Assiotos to alma manufac



Oct. 20, 1925.

' A. H. KERNGOOD CLAMPING BUCKLE Filed July 12, 1924 Patented Oct. 20, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALLEN H. KERNGOOD, 0F BALTIMORE, M'ARYLAND, ASSIGNOR TO ALMA MANUFAC- TUBING- COMPANY OF BALTIMORE CITY, 0F BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, A CORPORA- TION OF MARYLAND.

CLAMPING BUCKLE.

Application filed July 12, 1924. Serial No. 725,544.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, ALLEN I-I. Innivcooo, a citizen of the United States, residing at Baltimore, in the State of lvlaryland, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Clamping Buckles, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to that type of buckles in which the frame has pivoted to it a duplex clamping member one part of which is a lever adapted to secure what may be termed the fixed end of a belt or strap, and an-other part of which is a. floating device movable into and out of position to engage and disengage the other or adjustable end of the belt or strap, the type of buckle just described being represented in Patent No 1,473,581, dated November 6, 1923 and granted to Alma Manufacturing' Company of Baltimore city, assignee of the undersigned inventor and also in my application for patent for clamping buckles, filed November 19, 1923, Serial No. 675,699. now Patent No. 1,506,349, dated August 26, 1924.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a floating member which automatically adapts itself to clamp belts or straps of different thickness equally elficiently and securely without impairing the strength and rigidity of its structural material or of' the structure itself.

The invention consists of a floating clamping member having one belt or strapengaging edge or face of substantially the full width of the member and another strap engaging-edge or face of less width and opposite end strips bent back from the narrower toward the wider edge and serving` as housings for loosely engaging pivots on its carrying member, as I will proceed now to explain and finally claim.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating the invention, in the several figures of which like parts are similarly designated, Figure 1 is an inverted plan view of the buckle. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section showing the buckle engaging opposite ends of a relatively thick belt or strap, the adjustable end being engaged by the wider edge or face of the floating member. Fig. 8 also is a longitudinal section showing a buckle applied to opposite ends of a relatively thin belt or strap, the adjustable end of the belt or strap being engaged by the narrower edge or face. Fig. 4 is an end elevation of the buckle frame. Fig. is a perspective view of the duplex clamping member, with the lever element omitted. Fig. 6 is a perspective View of the floating clamping element detached.

The frame is composed of a face plate 1 of any suitable construction and design, preferably concavo-convex between its ends and having substantially fiat ends 2, and parallel side flanges 3 of suitable contour, size and arrangement to receive the movable parts or duplex clamping member referred to.

The side flanges 3 are extended depthwise nearer one end of the frame than the other, and these extended portions are turned over so as to project toward the back of the face plate to form the bearing elements 4 which are provided with the bearing holes 5. As will be seen by reference to Fig 4 particularly, these inturned bearing members are spaced slightly apart from the adjacent portions of the sides, and this permits of the use of relatively long axial or pivot members and allows a certain amount of end thrust and yet, in common with the invention of the application above mentioned, wholly confines and conceals within the frame the said bearings and avoids any projections on the sides of the frame, and thus admits of the production of a buckle whose frame is wholly withoutlateral projections and is smooth, uniform and symmetrical.

The duplex clamping member comprises a base piece 6, provided with ears 7 in which is pivoted the clamping lever 8 of any usual or approved construction and adapted to clamp the fixed end of a belt or strap against the base piece when thislever is turned into the closed position shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3. The opposite end of the base piece 6 has the raised portion 9 on which the free end of the lever 8 comes to rest when closed. This end of the base piece is turned down on a sharp curve and nearly at right angles to the body of the base piece in order to form the tongue 10. This tongue is provided with the laterally projecting trunni'ons 11 which engage the holes 5 in the bearing pieces 4 for pivoting the duplex lever in the frame. Below these trunnions the tongue is provided with the notches 12 which afford the laterally eX- tending projections 13, and on these projections is suspended a floating clamping member as shown in detail in Figs. and (3, for use in clamping the free or adjustable end Iof the belt or strap. The floating clamping member has the angular edge or y face 14E of its full width, and opposite tnis edge 14C is a narrower edge l5, which eX- tends from the body of the duplex clamping member in a direction opposite to the edge or face 14. The material slitted from the body of the device in the formation of the edge 15 is turned back upon the body and spaced apart therefrom to form housing' pieces 16 which in connection with the adjacent portions of the body of the device are adapted to engage loosely the projections l?) in such way that this floating clamping member is self-adjusting with relation to the duplex clamping member as a whole, so as to accommodate itself to belts or straps of different thickness. For example, as shown in Fig. 2, when a relatively thick belt or strap is used, the floating clamping member' will adjust itself on the projections 13 so that its edge or surface 14: will be in clamping engagement with the strap, whereas if there is used a relatively thin belt or strap, the edge or surface 15 will be in engagement with the belt or strap, as shown in Fig. 3.

The floating clamping member has a sort of rolling motion in connection with the dupleX clamping member in order to effect the self-adjustment of the floating clamping member with the belt or strap.

The floating clamping member' is so pivoted on the tongue 10 that while it has the described rolling motion, this motion is limited by the tongue coming into contact with the adjacent portions of the floating clamping member.

|The buckle of this present invention has all of the advantages of the buckle of the application above mentioned, and in addition the floating clamping member is stronger and more durable and more readily manufactured than the corresponding member of said application.

As shown in Fig. 6 the belt or strap-engaging edges or faces of the floating clamping member are of curved profile and conform to the cross-sectional profile of the buckle frame. This profile relation between frame and clamping member may be maintained in any variations made. Also as shown in Figs. 2, 3 and G the edge 15 may have its tip reduced and turned outwardly, to increase its effective engagement with the belt or strap.

Other variations in details of construction are permissible within the principle of the invention and the claims following.

l/Vhat l claim is 1. ln a clampin0V buckle of the type described, a duplex la-mping member having a base-piece provided with laterally extending' projections, and a floating clamping member having one angular clamping edge of its full width and another clamping edge narrower than the angular edge and slitted from opposite sides of the body of the floating clamping member and extending therefrom in a direction opposite to the angular edge, the material slitted from the body of the floating clamping member in the formation of the narrower edge being turned back toward the full-width edge and serving as housing pieces loosely engaging said laterally extending projections and thereby rendering the floating clamping member self-adjusting with relation to the duplex clamping member as a whole so as to adapt the floating clamping member to accommodate itself to belts or straps of different thickness.

2. In a clamping buckle of the type described, a duplex clamping member having a base-piece provided with laterally extending projections, and a floating clamping member having one angular clamping edge of its full width and another clamping edge narrower than the angular edge and slitted from opposite sides of the body of the Hoating clamping member and extending therefrom in a direction opposite to the angular edge, the material slitted from the body of the floating clamping member in the formation of the narrower edge being turned back toward the full-width edge and serving as housing pieces which loosely engage said laterally extending projections and thereby render the floating clamping member selfadjusting with relation to the duplex clamping member as a whole so as to adapt the floating clamping member to accommodate itself to belts or straps of different thickness, the tip of the narrower edge being reduced and turned outwardly to increase its effective engagement with the belt. or strap.

3. ln a clamping buckle of the type described, a duplex clamping member having laterally extending projections, and a floating clamping member having its opposite sides slitted and the slitted portions turned over to form housings for loosely engaging the said laterally extending projections to permit a rolling motion of the floating clamping member on said projections, an angular edge member on said floating clamping member and of the full width thereof and a narrower edge member arranged between the slits and extending from the floating clamping member in a direction opposite to the full-width edge.

In testimony whereof, lhave hereunto set my hand this eleventh day of July A. D. 1924.

ALLEN H. KERNGOOD 

